Derek Bell returns to Le Mans in a Porsche 962

The last time Derek Bell raced a Porsche 962 at Le Mans was in 1992 with his son Justin and Tiff Needell. Now 20 years later, Bell returns for a Group C race on the morning of Saturday, 16th June.

He will race a Porsche 962, chassis CK6-88, owned by Martin Overington, a highly original car that still wears its Kenwood livery, with matching engine and chassis numbers. The car raced at Le Mans in 1988 finishing 9th overall, completing 5,007 kilometres, driven by Takahashi, Okada and Giacomelli.

Further competition outings included Michael & Mario Andretti racing the car at the World Challenge of Tampa race in 1988, where it finished in 6th place. The car also won the 1988 European Interserie Championship, with Danish driver Kris Nissen.

Derek commented on his return to Le Mans “Martin, the owner of the Porsche 962, invited me to drive his car. As it’s been twenty years and I still enjoy racing in historic series, the invitation was a hard one to resist.”

He went on to say, “It’s going to be fun rather than competitive, the emphasis is on the fun part, and I will enjoy soaking up the unique atmosphere created by the fans who watch the racing at Le Mans, a track that has meant more to me than any other in the world given the success I have had there.”

Derek will take part in the Group C race that starts at 10:05am on the Saturday morning (16th June), with qualifying and practice for an hour on Thursday 14th June at 4pm.

Martin Overington, the proud owner of the 962, said “I am thrilled that Derek is going to return to race at Le Mans in this 962, a car with a Le Mans history, to which we can add, “Raced by Derek Bell”. As a huge Le Mans fan it does not get much better than that”.

You can follow Derek’s progress at Le Mans in the Porsche 962 via his new twitter account @MrDerekBell with updates, images and video posted on his website www.derekbell.com.